


Looking Glass

by Offline (Exo_One)



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Akumatized Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-10
Updated: 2019-09-10
Packaged: 2020-10-13 18:07:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20586776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Exo_One/pseuds/Offline
Summary: Five bad moments of an alternate season one.





	Looking Glass

She isn't fast enough to save Papa. The walls collapse and he disappears under a rolling tide of dust and smoke.

Rage fills every fiber of her being and her mind goes blank.

The day is saved... right?

(Papa is in critical condition, and she couldn't save him. She wasn't fast enough. Wasn't good enough. The mirror she wears over her face loses luster.)

\---

People become uneasy around the 'heroes' of Paris. They cause the trouble that they solve, at least in the public eye. Chaos erupts, swiftly followed by two skilled individuals who save the day.

Hawkmoth makes his intent clear, and Paris is suddenly a lot less friendly. The way to make the Akuma disappear is to take the powers from their heroes.

Submission is easier than rebellion, the voice of doubt says. Give in and be Marinette.

(She can feel the mirror cracking around her.)

\---

Stress slowly eats her alive, bite by bite.

Projects only pass by the thinnest margins.

She has two jobs to help pay for her father's medical bills.

Ladybug is a hero, but not one the people want. They want her to give up, to end the fight. To quit while she's ahead.

(The tide of negative thoughts only continues to rise. She's drowning.)

\---

Ladybug is attacked by a civilian. They try to rip her earrings from her ears, to end the fight, to win it for those caught in the crossfire...

She runs. She won't hurt them. She won't attack what she swore to defend.

(She barely eats- what use does a mirror have for food? What use does the scared little girl under it have for food?)

\---

Chloe makes fun of her father, saying awful things that should never be said about anyone. Marinette's mirror-face breaks and she runs away crying.

No kindness can undo what has been done. Nobody even stands up for her. Not even Adrien.

_"Greetings. I am Hawkmoth. I feel as though we've met before, though under far more unpleasant circumstances."_

She nods and says nothing, heart beating raw and eyes streaming with tears.

_"You try so, so hard to keep up a mirror... to show them kindness they never truly reflect back in the hopes of one day receiving it yourself. But that's finally failed you, hasn't it? There's no mirror left... Is there, Ladybug?"_

Another nod, more vigorous.

_"Come, Bloody Mari... be an urban legend no longer. Protect the mirrored masks you call home. Break those who stand in our way, just like they broke you."_

She smiles, teeth sharpening. Hair darkens and lengthens, clothes wear and skin pales. No more mirrors. No more wasted kindness.

She pulls a shard of mirrorglass from her shoulder and looks down at herself.

It feels right.

And soon, they'll all understand how it feels to shatter.


End file.
